A past so dark
by GinaGold fan
Summary: 2 This is a continuation of the story Rekindled love. Smithy helps CID investigate a reopened case and discovers a secret about Gina that she had hoped she had left in her past. Plz r&r as help and reveiws would be great.x
1. Framed

_Previously on my fic… This is a continuation of the story "Rekindled Love". To summarize what happened in my previous story; Gina and Adam had been out the night before at a party. Gina stayed the night at his and they decided to give their relationship another shot. Elsewhere Ginas' cousin Andrea Peters, had been involved in a domestic with her husband, Andrew, who then went on the run. A gun was found in the possession of Andrew Peters which was later linked to the murder that Ginas' brother Richard was charged for._

**FRAMED**

Gina rolled onto her side and switched off the ringing alarm clock. It was five past seven in the morning, a lay in compared to what she was used to. She'd decided to take the morning off work so she could take Adam to the airport. He was leaving soon for Nigeria.

_Well I'd better be getting up. S_he groaned. She looked to her right, the bed was empty but then she looked up, and saw Adam standing in the doorway holding a tray full of breakfast. She smiled at him. She loved Adam dearly and was so happy that they had decided to give it another go. Adam was going to cancel his trip to Nigeria, but Gina wanted him to go. She understood why he needed to go, and she also knew that she would still be here when he got back.

"Are you sure you don't mind me going away? I will cancel it now if you say you want me to stay." Adam said looking at Gina, hoping she would still be ok with their arrangements. He genuinely wouldn't go if she said she wanted him to stay.

"Adam, don't be daft. Of course I want you to go. You need to go and you would regret it if you didn't." Gina was going to miss him, but he promised to be back in about three months, or at least back in time for Christmas.

Adam sat next to Gina on the bed. He was about to kiss her when the phone rang. They both sighed and laughed. Gina leaned past him to pick up the receiver. _Who can be ringing me at this time in the morning? I phoned the nic last night to tell them I'd be in later._

"Hello?" She answered, sounding a little irked. Knowing her luck there'd be some sort of crisis that couldn't wait until later.

"Hi Gina, it's Neil Manson. I'm sorry to phone you at home, I hope I didn't disturb you."

"No, of course not." Gina lied. She really didn't want to be bothered at the moment. She only had a few hours left with Adam and she wanted to spend every minute with him.

"I know you've booked this morning off but Jack needs to speak to you as soon as possible."

"Can it not wait until this afternoon?" She asked trying to get out of what ever it was that Jack and Neil wanted her to do.

"I suppose so, but you'll need to go see Jack as soon as you come in." Neil sounded rather annoyed that Gina wouldn't be coming in sooner, but she didn't care.

"Ok Neil I'll be in as soon as I can." She put the receiver down before he had a chance to object. She turned, looked at Adam, smiled and said,

"Now where were we?"


	2. Framed 2

**FRAMED**

At the Airport, Gina sat in the café with Adam waiting for his flight to terminate. She loved airports. It reminded her of when she used to take her brother, Richard, to watch the airplanes. He had a fascination with them from a very young age. Gina was eight years older than him. He would have been 48 this year. She had been really close to him. Her Mum had been addicted to valium all of Ginas' life, as for her Dad, he'd avoided responsibility for his family right up until he died. Gina blamed him for her mothers' addiction. He was out having affairs, committing crimes and spent all of his time at the bookies. The only reason her Mum and Dad got married was because Esther (Ginas' Mum) fell pregnant. Gina resented her Dad and everything he had stood for, a liar, a cheat but most of all, a coward.

"Gina, that's my flight boarding now." Adam said. He'd obviously been trying to talk to her for a while.

"I'm sorry Adam I was in a world of my own. I was just thinking…" Adam knew the truth about Richard. Gina had explained when they first started going out. It was coming up to the anniversary of Richards' death. Adam knew this, and he also knew how much Gina dwelled on it.

"Gina, you can't keep blaming yourself for what happened to your brother. I know it's coming up to his anniversary. How longs it been now?"

"Coming up 24 years on the 3rd of November. He would have been 48 this year Adam."

A speaker sounded above their heads. They were calling again for people on Adams flight.

"You'd better go otherwise you'll miss your flight." Adam stood and looked at her. She knew what he was thinking. He had that sympathetic look on his face which she hated.

"Honest Adam I'll be fine. Go now." She said, flicking her hand in the direction of the gate.

Adam smiled, "What am I going to do with you? Look, I'll call you when I get there. Alright?"

"Well you just make sure you do."

Adam kissed her one final time before he moved towards the terminating gate. The last couple of days seemed so surreal to Gina. They'd gone so quickly.

She sat and waited until Adams flight had gone. _Well I'd better get going and find out what the next crises is._ She thought, feeling harassed and fed up.

Jack sat in his office looking at the case file for Richard Gold. On the 8th of April 1982, Angus Darling was murdered in Golds bookmakers on Union Street. He had two bullet wounds to the head, the first to his right temple and the second to his forehead. The details that linked Richard to the murder seemed only circumstantial to Jack. The bookmakers was owned by Derek Gold, Gina and Richard Golds father; Richard and Angus had been friends until they had fallen out two weeks before the murder.

At that moment someone knocked on his door. It was Gina._ Hopefully she will be able to shed a little more light on the subject._

"Come in Gina, take a seat." There was no easy way to explain this to her. She had always claimed her brother was innocent.

"Gina, there's no easy way to explain this to you so I'm just going to be frank about it. Yesterdays case involving Andrew Peters. There's been some developments… involving your brothers conviction." Jack stopped. The look on Ginas' face said it all. She looked so grave. Clearly this was a sore subject.

"We may have found some evidence that could prove your brothers innocence and find the real killer. The gun that Pc Casper found yesterday is the link."

Gina just sat and listened. After nearly twenty four years, there was now a chance that her brother was going to be cleared, found innocent for the crime he claimed he never did. However, even if he was cleared, it still wouldn't bring him back.

"Have MIT been informed?" Gina asked blankly.

"Yes. MIT and Neil Manson are going to investigate and the case has been reopened. I need you to tell me how much you know about what happened the night Angus Darling died."

"There aint much I can tell you really. I had seen Richard about an hour, hour and a half before the murder."

"What did you talk about?"

"Nothing particularly. Just memories from when we grew up. He was mad that Angus and he had fallen out. They'd been friends since junior school. He wanted to make up with him."

"What did they fall out about?" Jack said cutting her off.

Gina sighed. She never really made sense of what happened.

"I don't know exactly. My brother was seeing Angus' sister Marie. They'd been seeing each other for a couple of months, she fell pregnant and they wanted to get married. I don't think Angus was very happy about it. I never got the full story from Richard. Richard was mad about what happened between them, but he wasn't the kind of person who could murder anyone let alone his best friend." Gina was getting irritated as she often did when she talked about Richard.

"Apparently there was a witness who saw your brother murder Angus, a Jack Marshall. What do you know about him?"

Even the name made Ginas blood boil. She knew Jack Marshall, too well.

"I don't know that much about him." She lied. "Jack worked for my Dad. He knew Angus and my brother. The night Angus was murdered Marshall was in seeing him."

"Yes that's right. Marshall claimed that Richard…" Jack pulled out a witness statement and began to read. "…came into the office at the back of the bookmakers. He was angry and began to shout at Angus, saying it was payback time. I tried to calm him down. He began to pace the office and then pulled a gun out from underneath his jacket. He then walked towards Angus and pulled the trigger. He shot him twice in the head." Jack stopped and looked at Gina. "I don't know about you but that sounds staged to me. What's your take on it?"

Gina didn't know what to think. She never told anyone the real reason why Richard went to the bookies that night, and it was all because of her that he did.

"I don't know what to think. I can assure you, that does not sound like my brother and I knew him better than anyone."

"Thanks Gina, I think that's everything for now. We will keep you up to date with any developments. If you think of anything else, come tell me, I'll pass it on."

Gina walked out of the DCI's office in a daze. She was in such a day dream that she walked straight into Smithy.

"Are you alright Gina?" Smithy asked feeling really concerned for his friend. She looked really pale and worried.

Gina looked up at Smithy and gave him a weak smile. She needed someone to talk to, and it was time the truth was told.

"I'm ok. I could do with someone to talk to though." They walked into Ginas' office and sat down in silence. For the second time in two days, Gina was relying on Smithy for advice. She had no idea how to tell him or where to start, all she knew was that someone needed to know the truth.


	3. Framed 3

**FRAMED**

Gina and Smithy sat in Ginas' office in silence. She made them a cup of tea, but she still didn't say anything. Smithy felt really worried about his friend. He hadn't seen her as worried as this since she told him she had cancer last year. Her cancer couldn't be back, could it? Smithy knew better than to ask though, Gina would tell him what was on her mind in her own time. Finally, Gina looked at Smithy and said,

"I don't know where to begin to even try to explain this to you. This is something very hard for me to talk about; I need you to listen without interrupting. I also need you to understand what happened and not judge me for it."

Smithy looked up at Gina and could see that she was very upset about something. Without saying a word he just slowly nodded his head.

"24 years ago, my brother was arrested and charged for murder. He was innocent but there was no evidence to back this up. He was sentenced to life, but he couldn't hack it inside. He killed himself a couple of months later. The case has been reopened due to some new evidence. The thing is…I was questioned in the original investigation. They wanted to know if I knew why Richard had gone to see Angus Darling, the guy who was murdered, the night he died. To this day I have never told anyone the truth about what happened." Gina took a deep breath and shook slightly with nerves. Smithy had never seen her like this before and he was terrified that it could be serious.

"When I was twenty four, I…erm…I was the manager of one of my Dads bookies'. He had made me the manager for my eighteenth birthday. There was a guy who worked there, Jack Marshall; I'd seen him a round, I didn't know him well but he worked for my Dad. He had been making advances towards me over a few months. I had made it clear to him I wasn't interested, but he kept trying. I didn't see him as any kind of threat, just a pain in the arse. One night I was working late in the back office of the bookies. I owned the flat above, so I would do some work if I couldn't sleep or whatever. This night I was completely on my own. It was going on for midnight. Jack Marshall came into the back office. He was drunk and was up to his usual tricks. He started making comments and trying it on. I'd had enough and made for the door. He grabbed me by the arm and tried to pull me back so I hit him in the face. He got angry, grabbed me by the throat and slammed me against the wall. I must have hit my head pretty hard because I passed out."

Gina shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She wasn't sure how to explain this. It was the hardest thing to talk about for her and she wasn't sure what Smithys' reaction would be.

"When I came round he was on top of me before I could stop him. I was too dazed to push him off. I passed out again after that." Gina rushed the last bit. It fell out in a heap as Gina tried to explain what happened. The look on Smithys' face was of pure horror and shock, yet he kept his word. He never said anything.

Gina took another deep breath. "A couple of months later I found out I was pregnant. Believe it or not I was really happy. I decided to have the baby. I started to look for a house away from my family, away from all the problems that I had to deal with my whole life. I felt like the baby was my chance out. I didn't tell anyone I was pregnant, I kept it hidden. I went for all my scans and tests, everything was going well. I'd found the perfect house as well. A couple of weeks before the baby was born, my brother phoned me in a panic. He was only 16. Our mum had had an accident. She was unconscious on the kitchen floor and she had banged her head badly on the corner of the table. Our Dad wasn't anywhere to be found, as usual. It was then that I realized that I couldn't leave Richard on his own to look after our Mum and himself, but it would be unfair to raise the baby in the same environment I was raised in. It wouldn't have had a childhood, and that's what I wanted most for her. I had a healthy baby girl, Esther after my Mum, about a week or so later. I made the hardest decision of my life and gave her up for adoption."

Gina suddenly stopped. She could feel the tears stinging at her eyes and she had to swallow them back quickly. Smithy looked at Gina not knowing what to say to her. Finally he plucked up the courage and found his voice.

"Have you ever got in touch with your daughter?" He asked cautiously. He didn't want to pry too much but he wanted to help his friend.

Gina shook her head. "No. I decided that she was probably better off without me. After all, what would I say to her after all these years?"

Smithy had so many questions whizzing round his head. The one he wanted to ask the most was the one he thought Gina may take offence to. He realized that he would be better to come out and say it rather than sugar coating it.

"Gina. How come you haven't been able to have any children since?"

Gina was a little taken a back. This was a question she hadn't expected Smithy to ask.

"There were complications with her. She had to be delivered by emergency cesarean. She was fine, but my blood pressure was too high. I hemmeraged and lost quite a lot of blood. I didn't realize that it would cause me problems in the future until the problems started occurring."

Smithy still looked confused. He couldn't understand how this had anything to do with the murder of a man. He sat for a minute, picking his words carefully.

"So what does this have to do with your brothers' conviction?" He asked bluntly.

"I was just getting to that. I felt really guilty about not telling Richard about his niece you know. Eight years later I was living in a house on Tillberry way. My brother used to come stay with me sometimes. I had kept a box with photos and scans and other things belonging to my daughter. I had hidden it in a cupboard in my living room. The night that Angus was murdered, Richard came round to see me. He went into the cupboard to look for something and found the box. When he asked me about it there wasn't much I could say, it had things in it that said that I was her mum. I told him the truth about what happened that night. He was so angry about what had happened, about the fact that I'd given my baby away for adoption. He said he was going to go and speak to Marshall. He stormed off to the bookies where Jack was with Angus."

Smithy couldn't believe anything that he was hearing. He couldn't believe that Gina had a daughter out there somewhere, one she had never met or spoken to. He sat and listened intently waiting for the next piece of news.

"The next thing I heard was the police knocking at my door at three o'clock the next morning. They had come to tell me Richard had been arrested for murder. The first thing that entered my head was that he had done something to Marshall but when they explained it was Angus…I was shocked to say the least. When I spoke to Richard about it he said that he had gone to see Marshall at the bookies. He was so angry that he burst into the back office. As he stormed into the room he saw Jack Marshall holding the gun to Angus' head as he pulled the trigger. The original police investigation linked evidence to Richard that incriminated him. Marshall made a statement saying it was Richard who pulled the trigger in anger. As far as the investigating officers were concerned it was case closed. The problem was, the gun was never located and it was the only piece of evidence that could have cleared his name. The gun Dan found yesterday, it was the same gun used in the murder."

Smithy mulled all this information over in his head. It was a lot of information to take in. He was still unsure though why Gina was telling him all of this.

"So I take it there is a very good reason why you're telling me all this. I don't want you to worry though, I won't tell anyone." Smithy cared a lot about Gina. She was a really good friend to him and looked out for him a lot. She had helped him through so many heartaches he had lost count. At least now he was getting a chance to help her.

"You're right there is a reason I'm telling you this. I want someone in on the case who knows all the facts, someone I can trust to keep this information, and anything else they may discover, to themselves. Smithy, you are the only one in this station I truly trust. I needed to talk to someone as well. This is a huge heartache of mine and I've never had anyone to talk to about it."

Smithy felt such great sorrow for his friend. He knew how much having children meant to Gina, he also knew how she felt about her brother.

"Did you never tell Adam 'bout your daughter?"

"No. Talking about her has always been too hard for me. You should feel honored that I've managed to tell you. I didn't tell Adam because I didn't want him to judge me for what I did and I wanted to leave it in my past, move on from what happened."

At that moment Leela knocked on Ginas' door.

"Ma'am, Andrew Peters has just been arrested. He's being brought into custody by Tony now."

"Thank you Leela. If you could inform the DCI for me."

Gina walked over to the door and pushed it shut as Leela headed towards CID.

"So what would you like me to do then Gina, shall I ask the DCI if he will let me sit in on the interview?" Smithy asked, eager to get started and help his friend as well as put a criminal behind bars.

"I'll speak to Jack, you head down to custody and help June incase he turns nasty. He is more than capable, cuffs or no cuffs."

Gina walked out of her office and headed up the steps to CID. She felt happier, as if a large weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It felt nice to talk about her daughter.

_I wonder what she's doing right now. _Gina thought to herself; and a smile slowly curled at the sides of her mouth.


	4. Framed 4

**FRAMED**

In custody Smithy walked in to the sound of abuse being hurled at poor June. Andrew was struggling desperately against Tony, Roger and Dan. It was taking the three of them all their time to control him. _Gina weren't kiddin' when she said he could cause trouble._

Smithy walked towards his officers to offer them a hand. As he reached the brawling group, Andrew broke free from Tonys' grasp and he lunged at Smithy. Andrew grabbed Smithy and kneed him in the groin; he also punched him in the stomach. Smithy was more than capable of defending himself. Five years in the army had taught him how.

At that moment Gina walked through the doors into custody. When Andrew saw Gina stood in front of him, his lips curled into an evil sneer.

"Well well, if it isn't Gina Gold. Still tryin' to be a do-gooder? Well you'll always be a stuck up cow to me…" At that moment he went for Gina, aiming his fist for her face. She grabbed his arm, twisted it against his back and pushed him hard against the wall.

"Andrea may not be strong enough to stand up to you, but I most certainly am." She said into his ear. Smithy and Tony went over to their Inspector to offer their help.

"Smithy put him in a cell please. Let the DCI know he's here. You can interview him shortly." June said as she entered the rest of his details into the computer system.

Everyone was a little taken aback by Ginas' display of anger towards Andrew. Without saying a word to anyone she turned and headed back to her office. The rest of the officers in custody bustled back into action as Smithy put a very abusive Andrew in his cell.

As Gina walked into her office, her phone started to ring. Gina sighed and rolled eyes, _oh what now, can't a woman get a bit of piece and quiet._

"Inspector Gold." She answered immediately recognizing the voice on the other end.

"Hi Gina. You sound harassed, haven't caught you at a bad moment have I?"

"No Alex you haven't. Trust me it's nice to hear a friendly voice."

Alexandra Macdonald (Alex to her friends) had been a good friend of Ginas for the last 10 years or so. She had three daughters and lived next door to Gina. She was a police officer at Barton Street nic, her husband was a police officer as well; that was until a few months ago. He had been murdered by an armed bloke who was doing over a jewelers. Alex had been expecting their third daughter at the time. She had gone into premature labour the same day her husband died. The stress of the situation had caused her daughter to be born nearly eight weeks early.

"What can I help you with?" Gina asked with mock suspicion.

"Are you busy just now Gina? I was just wondering if I could call round to the station to see you." Gina had worked with Alex when she had started as a probationer at her first station. Gina had been great and really looked after her.

"No I'm not too busy, things are a bit stressful here at the moment but I'll explain more when you get here. Is there something wrong or do you just want the company?"

"No I just want to talk to you about something, although the company would be nice."

"Ok, well I'll see you in say half an hour?"

"Yeah I'm setting off now. I'm going to stop off at the shops on my way round if there's anything you're needing?" Alex asked.

"You could pick me up some milk if you don't mind. I'm pretty much out."

Gina replaced the handset. Alex was a lovely girl; Gina was really fond of her and her three children.

Back in custody Jack entered the interview room, joining Smithy, Andrew Peters and his solicitor.

"Interview commencing at 14.05. Those present are DCI Jack Meadows, Sergeant Dale Smith, Mr Andrew Peters and his solicitor Brian Cambridge. Now Mr Peters may I remind you that you are under caution, you do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not answer when questioned, something you later rely on in court. Do you understand?"

"Yeah I get it." Andrew sneered with a bored tone to his voice.

"Now Mr Peters, I'd like to ask you a few questions about Richard Gold, name sound familiar?"

"Yeah, he's that stuck up tarts brother. Lots of things I could tell you about Gina Gold."

"We aren't interested in anything else you have to say apart from what you know about her brother. What can you tell us about the night Angus Darling died?" Smithy asked, anger rising as he heard his friend being slagged off.

"I'm sorry but it was my understanding my client had been brought in for questioning regarding his wifes' allegation." The solicitor retorted smugly.

"I can a sure you this is relevant. You see, yesterday Mr Peters was found in possession of a gun that was used in the murder of Mr Angus Darling. So Mr Peters, can you tell me how you came to be in possession of the gun."

"No comment" was the reply. Andrew Peters was cocky, too cocky, but Jack could play him at his own game.

Elsewhere, a knock at Gina's door brought her round from her thoughts.

"Hi Gina. I hope I haven't caught you at a bad moment. Sounds like you've got trouble on your hands." Alex entered Gina's office. She was tall and slim with long blonde hair.

"No darlin' it's good to see you. I've hardly seen you in the last couple of weeks and that's saying something, we live next door to each other. How are you finding things now the girls have gone back to school?" Gina felt concerned about her friend. Alex was stubborn and didn't like the thought of anyone thinking she was weak or incapable.

"I'm doing alright, honest. I won't deny that it's been hard but that's what I'm here to talk to you about. I think it's time I got the rest of my life back together."

"I wondered what you were after. Well go ahead. You know me by now, if I can help I will."

"Well, my maternity leave is due to end in a couple of weeks and I think it's time I returned to work. The thing is, I don't feel comfortable working at Barton Street any more. Paul isn't there and it would just seem strange without him. I think if I'm to start again, I need to start at a new station. I would really like to transfer to Sun hill Nic. Don't suppose you 'ave any sergeants posts going do you?"

Gina looked sympathetically at the woman in front of her. Alexs' husband had meant a lot to her. She had only been promoted to sergeant a couple of months before his death. He had been really supportive and Alex had grown in confidence during their relationship.

"I can't make any promises, but, between you and me there is a sergeant's position coming up. One of our sergeants is leaving in about two week's time. The Superintendent and I will be starting interviews within the next couple of days. I would much rather give you the job than someone I don't know. I'll put in a good word and see what we can do. How's that sound?"

"Sounds great. Thanks Gina, it's very much appreciated. So what's going on in here? Sounds like all hell has broken loose."

Gina explained everything that had happened in the last twenty four hours. Alex already knew everything about Richard; she also understood the pain of loosing a sibling.

"So how are coping with that? Can't be easy having Richards memory dragged through the system, yet again. Do you think they'll have enough evidence to take it somewhere this time?"

"Oi, will you ask me one question at a time please." Gina said jokingly. "I'm hoping so. At least this time my colleagues are working with me to clear his name, not against me."

Alex looked at her watch; it was almost time to collect her girls from school.

"Oh well Gina I'd better go and collect the girls. If I don't go now I'll be late. I'll come round later if you want, catch up properly?" Gina looked at the mountain of paperwork in front of her. _Well, I could do with the fresh air._ She thought.

"Tell you what; I'll walk round with you. Any excuse to get a break from this place and I want to see my goddaughters."

With that the two women walked through the station into the backyard and out of the gates.


	5. Chapter 5

Smithy was feeling tired, he had been in the interview room with Peters for over an hour. They hadn't gotten anything from him. He answered, "No comment" to most of their questions or he didn't say anything at all.

"Don't worry Smithy, we'll get him eventually. We just need to do more digging, trip him up some how. I've got permission to detain him over night. Doesn't give us much time but it may be enough to find something to force his hand." Jack sounded confident yet inside he was feeling frustrated. They could only hold him for a little bit longer; after that they would have to release him and he would, with out a doubt, do a runner.

"So what do you suggest next then gov'? He's not going to give us anything and he's are only link at the moment to Ginas' brother." Smithy couldn't help reveal the worry and frustration in his voice. He knew that Gina would be heartbroken if the case was dropped once more.

"I want you to go down to Longmarsh prison and talk to John Campbell. He's now the prisons gov'ner. At the time he was the prison officer on Richards' wing. I want you to ask him about the events leading to Richards suicide. Take Mickey with you, and let me know what you find."

"Sure Gov'. Do you know where Inspector Gold is now sir?" Smithy asked quickly. He wanted to get down to Longmarsh as quickly as he could but he also wanted to keep his promise and fill Gina in on the latest.

"No I don't know where she is now. Last I heard she was with Alex Macdonald in her office."

"Thanks Gov'." With that Smithy walked out of custody and headed towards Ginas office.

Gina sat in Alex's living room, listening to Molly as she explained what she had done at nursery that morning. Molly was the middle child aged 4. Cara was the eldest aged 11 and then there was the youngest of the three girls, named Gina by her siblings. 'Baby' would be tacked on at the beginning so that they knew which Gina they were talking about.

Gina really loved spending time with Alex and her daughters. To Gina they were like family, and they treated her as family as well. As Gina sat in the warmth of the sitting room, she heard the sound of Alexs' voice on the baby monitor. She was trying to settle the baby down.

After about five minutes Alex came down the stairs looking very tired and frazzled. Gina couldn't help feeling sorry for Alex; she tried so hard to be a good Mum to her girls and sometimes she could try too hard, making herself tired and ill.

"You look exhausted Alex. Why don't you go lie down for a bit? Get some rest, eh?" Gina looked concerned at the young woman. Her skin was looking white and she had dark rings under her eyes from lack of sleep.

"I can't, I've got to get tea on the go and make their lunch boxes up…not only that but if I go to sleep then there's no-one to look after Molly and Cara." Alex slumped into the armchair closest to her and held her head in her hands.

Gina walked over to her friend and placed an arm round her shoulders.

"Go get some rest and I will quite happily look after the girls for a couple of hours. I'll take them out for a pizza or something. How does that sound?"

"That's very kind of you Gina but… I couldn't dump them on you that wouldn't be fair. You're my friend, not my personal babysitting service."

"You wouldn't be dumping them on me. I want to take them out and it's a great excuse for me to get out and about, as well as eat something unhealthy."

Both women just smiled at each other. Since the death of her husband Alex hadn't really been apart from her children and when she was she always got the sick feeling at the pit of her stomach.

"Thank you Gina. I don't know what I'd do without you you know."

Alex watched from the living room window as she watched Gina carry Molly out to the car and strapped her in. Cara got in the passengers side and they drove off out of the drive way and round the corner.


	6. Chapter 6

Prisoners milled round the prison playing pool, cards and dominoes. Some just sat or stood around talking. Being back in here brought back bad memories for Smithy. It wasn't that long ago that he was banged up in here. Gina had really stuck by him and now it was his turn to do the same for her.

Approaching the door Smithy felt very nervous. In some respects he felt like this was a waste of time as he didn't think that John Campbell would remember anything;_ He has seen countless people come through these gates, and a number of them have committed suicide. How can he remember this one case when it happened so long ago?_ Smithy felt frustrated, but he was prepared to give anything ago for Ginas' sake, no matter how hopeless it seemed.

Smithy knocked on the Gov'ners door.

"Yes come in please." John Campbell was a tall man in his late fifties if not his early sixties.

"Ah, you must be Sergeant Smith and Dc Webb. Yes Jack phoned to say you were coming. Take a seat."

"Thank you Sir. Did DCI Meadows explain why we wanted to see you?" Smithy asked politely, or as politely as he could manage under the circumstances.

"He explained that you had reopened the Angus Darling murder case. I was one of the prison officers on Richard Golds wing at the time of his imprisonment. I take it Jack is hoping I can remember anything about his suicide?" Smithy shuffled in his chair. He felt uncomfortable yet he didn't know why. There was something about this conversation that made him feel like he was betraying Gina.

"We were hoping you could shed some light on the subject. We would like to know if there was anything that happened around the time of his death that pushed him over the edge."

"I'll tell you as much as I can. Richard seemed like a good lad. Kept himself to himself most of the time. He was adamant that he didn't do it, and I believed him…"

"Really, why did you believe him? Most of the evidence pointed towards his guilt. What makes you think he wasn't just another convict trying it on?" Smithy said, digging for a reaction out of Campbell.

"I'd had dealings with the family before then. I used to be a copper on the beat myself at one time you know. I knew their father through his criminal activities. I nicked him on a couple of occasions. It was his wife I felt sorry for. He was never there for her or their kids. Esther couldn't cope after her son was born; her depression became so bad that she couldn't look after herself let alone her two children. Gina ended up looking after her mother and her brother, as well as herself. Gina left school when she was fifteen and started working for her Dad in one of his bookmakers. I used to walk round every now and then to check everything was ok. I did as much as I could for them. She was very close to her brother. When Richard was arrested for the murder, he wouldn't tell the investigating officers the truth…"

"But he opened up to you?" Micky cut in. Smithy had been concentrating on what John had to say that he forgot he was there.

"Yes he did. He explained the full facts of what had happened that night and why he didn't want to tell the truth."

"So why didn't he? I mean if would have cleared him of the murder…"

"Gina had sworn him to secrecy and no matter what happened, he wasn't going to break that promise."

Smithy realized at this point that John may explain what Richard had told him. He didn't want Micky listening to Gina's secret. She wanted it kept secret, and that was how it was going to stay.

"Err…DC Webb, would you mind waiting outside for a moment please. I would like to speak to Mr Campbell on my own." Without asking too many questions Micky left the room confused as to why he was sent out.

"Sir, Inspector Gold has already told me what happened the night Angus died and the reason Richard went to see Marshall. Is there anything else Richard told you that could help with our enquiries?" Smithy asked hopefully.

"I knew Marshall was a bad egg. He was always hanging around the bookies harassing Gina, but I never thought he'd do that. Richard didn't say very much about it. Only what Marshall did to her and that was why he went to see him the night Angus died."

Smithy looked at the floor. He couldn't imagine how Gina must have felt. First she lost her daughter because of this man, and then her brother.

"What happened around the time of Richards' death?" Smithy changed the conversation slightly.

"A couple of weeks before his death Gina stopped visiting him. Up until that point she had visited him every chance she got. It turned out that Richard had asked her to stay away. I couldn't understand why he did it because he looked forward to her visits. I knew he was unhappy but… I found him one morning hanging in his cell. Gina was distraught."

Smithy had as much information as he needed. He didn't think there was much more that Campbell could tell him.

"Thank you Mr Campbell you've been a great help. We'll let you know how we get on."

"Before you go, would you mind giving something to Gina for me? We found it in his cell a couple of months ago. It had fallen down the back of the cabinet." John walked over to a drawer and pulled out a small discoloured envelope.

"He wrote it the night before he died but it was never sent to her. I haven't opened it. It may have a few answers for her."

Smithy shook the gov'ners hand before leaving the office. He may not have gotten all the answers he wanted but it had helped a little.


	7. Chapter 7

In pizza hut, Gina sat with Molly and Cara eating a large ham and pineapple pizza. They'd been to see a film before hand. Gina was enjoying being out with the two girls.

"Right you two, hadn't we better think about heading off? You've got school in the morning."

"Do we have to? It's been really great fun spending time with you." Cara complained.

"Yeah it has hasn't it." Gina agreed "We haven't really spent much time with each other lately, have we?" Gina regretted not spending time with her goddaughters.

"Tell you what, so long as your mum agrees, how about we make this a weekly event? The three of us can do anything you like and maybe your mum might like to come occasionally. What do you think?"

"I really like that idea. Do you think that Mum will agree?" Cara asked.

"I don't see why not. You'll be with me so she should trust me…I hope." Gina just smiled and Caras' expression changed to match. They both burst out laughing and Cara threw her arms round Ginas' neck.

"Thank you Aunty Gina."

Smithy tried phoning Gina again. It was the third or fourth time he'd tried ringing her at home. That's where he was heading just now. He pulled up into her drive way and looked up at the empty house. There were no signs of life in there what so ever._ Where the hell is she?_ Smithy was starting to get a little worried now; he hadn't heard from her in hours.

At that moment someone knocked on his car window. Recognising the person standing next to his car, he opened the car door.

"Hello stranger." He said giving the young woman a hug.

"How've you been Alex? Sorry, stupid question I guess." He said sheepishly.

"I'm fine thanks. How are you? Keeping out of trouble I hope?"

"Of course Sergeant MacDonald." Smithy replied mock saluting. Alex playfully slapped his arm and they both fell into fits of laughter.

"If you're looking for Gina she's gone out with two of my girls. You can come inside and wait for her if you like? I'll make you a cuppa', kettles just boiled."

Smithy walked into the warmth of Alexs' house. He was greeted by a load of photographs of Alex and her husband Paul. There were also photos of their daughters at various ages. Smithy had been good friends with Paul. They used go to the pub together and shooting at the weekends.

"Here you go." Alex said passing Smithy a steaming hot cup of coffee.

"Yeah Gina took them out for a pizza. She thought it would be good to get them out of the house for a bit. So how's things at Sun Hill?"

"Oh just wonderful. We're all running round like scalded cats trying to please our new Superintendent and his zero tolerance policy. He's a bit of a tosser if you ask me." Smithy said sarcastically.

"Does Gina get on with him?" Alex asked smirking.

"Oh she does now, but it's only because Adam stepped in and sorted it out." He replied rolling his eyes.

Half an hour later, Gina walked into the house with Molly and Cara. Molly had fallen asleep in the car so Gina was carrying her in her arms. She didn't walk straight into the kitchen. She got Alexs' attention and pointed upstairs. Alex nodded in response.

Carrying Molly up to her room, Gina picked her way carefully, trying not to wake the sleeping child in her arms. She slowly placed Molly into her bed and kissed her goodnight before heading back downstairs.

"Do you want a cup of tea Gina? Or something a little stronger perhaps?" Alex smiled mischievously pulling a bottle of whiskey out of a cupboard.

The three of them sat in the living room sipping their drinks. Cara had gone up to bed and Smithy filled the two women in on what he'd found out at the prison.

"He gave me this letter to give to you Gina." Smithy said passing the envelope to Gina. "Apparently they found it a couple of months ago in the cell."

Gina took the letter and put it into her pocket.

"I'll open it later." Gina said swallowing back tears that were stinging her eyes.

"Well I'd better get going. Gotta' get up early tomorrow, and if I'm late my Inspector will kill me." Smithy joked and looked at Gina.

"Too right she will." She replied, smiling. "I'll see you tomorrow bright and early." She added, rolling her eyes.

"I'll show you out." Alex said following Smithy to the front door.

At the front door they spoke in whispers.

"Will you keep an eye on Gina? Reopening the case has brought a lot of bad feelings and memories to the surface. Just make sure she's ok." Smithy asked. The worry clearly audible in his voice.

"Yeah, I'll keep an eye on her here. Just make sure she's alright at the Nic. It's not going to be easy working so closely to the investigating officers."

"I'll do my best Alex. Anyway look after yourself and those girls of yours. It was really great seeing you again." Smithy said as he kissed Alex on the cheek.

"Keep in touch yeah." Alex replied.

As Smithy left Alex walked back into the living room and flopped into a chair.

"You alright?" Gina asked.

"Yeah I'm fine ta. Just tired I guess. I think the last few months are finally catching up on me. Anyway, what about you?" She asked raising one eyebrow. She knew that Gina would just shrug it off or change the subject.

"I'm fine. I don't need looking after. Richard died nearly 24 years ago and there's nothing I can do to change it." Gina sighed.

"Well I guess I would agree with that. But I know what it's like to lose a brother remember." Alex replied rather solemnly looking at the floor.

Her brother had died when they were teenagers in an accident.

"I'm sorry darling. I forgot about your brother. That must be coming up… what, 18, 19 years?"

"18 years this year. That was a horrible accident and my mother's never gotten over it. To be honest neither have I really. He was our big brother and he always looked after us." Alex had two younger siblings; Liz was a CPS solicitor and Cameron owned a restaurant in the west end of London.

The two women sat and talked for hours about their experiences, reminiscing about the times when they worked together. Alex helped lighten Gina's mood a little and they found them selves smiling and laughing.

"…like the time that guy mooned our area car. When we caught up with him you turned round and told him to put it away coz he had nothing to brag about. The look on his face was priceless. It took me all my time to keep a straight face and nic him. Typical Gina Gold humor that one. What made it funnier was the fact that you said it deadly serious."

"We've had quite a few good times haven't we? It'll be nice to work together again." Gina said optimistically.

"I haven't got the job yet. Your Superintendent may not want to hire me."

"Don't be daft, why wouldn't he? You're young, experienced and smart. Exactly what I expect from a Sergeant."

Gina looked at the clock on the mantle piece.

"My God it's going on for 1 o'clock. I've got to get up in a couple of hours. See you're a bad influence on me Ms Macdonald." Gina playfully reprimanded. "I'd better be heading back home. But before I do, I've got something I want to run past you. I really enjoyed spending those couple of hours with Molly and Cara. I promised them I would ask you if we could make it a weekly arrangement. I'll take them to the cinema or bowling or something and you get a break." Gina looked thoughtfully at her young friend. "What do you think?"

"I think that's a really nice idea, but how are you going to fit that in with work?" Alex asked.

"I thought we'd do it on a Saturday when it's my half day. I might actually find a use for it. I normally sit at home bored out of my mind watching endless crap on the TV. Feel free to say no if you don't like the idea. You could come with us if you wanted to come as well."

"You know Gina, your going soft in your old age, although, you always did have a soft spot for my girls. I think that sounds like a lovely idea so long as you don't mind doing it."

After Gina left, Alex went up to bed. Gina walked round the corner to her own house. Raising the key, she wearily turned it in the lock and pushed the front door open. It had been a very, very long day and she was ready to go to bed. Switching off the lights, she slowly up walked to her bedroom.


	8. Chapter 8

Jack walked into the briefing room to inform the select few officers about the Richard Gold case. Smithy had reported back everything that John Campbell had told him at Longmarsh yesterday.

"Right you lot. We have reopened a murder case from 1982. Now this is a very sensitive case so it's important that you remain professional throughout this investigation. The case involves Inspector Gold's brother Richard. He was accused and convicted for the murder of Angus Darling. He always claimed his innocence only he committed suicide after a couple of months in prison. Now as I've already said, this is very sensitive. Gina Gold is one of our officers and this is obviously very close to her. Whatever you find out throughout this investigation, you do not discuss it with anyone but the investigating officers; anything you do find must be reported to me or DI Manson. Now, DS Fraser and DI Franks are joining us from MIT to help with the investigation. They will be here in the station going over the old evidence and anything new that you may come up with. This case has been reopened several times before only to be closed again due to a lack of new evidence. I don't want this to happen again. Gina is relying on us to prove her brothers innocence, so let's get a result on this one."

After the briefing the six officers left the room and started familiarizing themselves with the case.

Sam and Phil were paired together. They walked out into the yard to the CID car. They had been tasked with talking to Marie Murray (nee Darling). She had been going out with Richard at the time her brother was murdered.

"Poor Gina though. That must have been awful for her; to have her brother banged up for something he didn't do and be powerless to anything about it." Sam said sympathetically.

"The original investigating officers must have had enough evidence to put him away. Crying out loud there's even a witness statement that says he did it. How do we know that Gold isn't on one because it's her brother and she doesn't want the shame of everyone knowing she has a murderer for a sibling?"

"Phil that is absolutely heartless and so uncalled for. How would you feel if that had have been Steve. You heard what Jack said, the original evidence was only circumstantial and Gina knew her brother better than anyone." Sam reprimanded him. She liked Phil a lot but sometimes he could be so judgmental.

Smithy and June were going to try and talk to Jack Marshall. They were on their way to the bookies on Union Street now. Marshall had taken over as manager after Gina had left nearly thirty years ago. Smithy was feeling very anxious about going to talk to Marshall. This was the man who had ruined Gina's life, fathered Gina's daughter and framed her brother for murder. No, anxious wasn't the word for how Smithy was feeling. He was furious, and knew he had to remain professional when speaking to Marshall even though he really wanted to punch the son of a b…

"Smithy are you even listening? What's the matter? You've hardly spoken a word since we left the Nic." June said rather concerned.

"Sorry June. I was just thinking about Gina. She's really cut up about this. She reckons it was Jack Marshall who pulled the trigger on Darling, and then he framed her brother for it."

"What makes her think that? There's no evidence to sug…"

"Her brother told her. He said he saw Marshall pull the trigger when he went into the office."

"What did he go to the bookies for in the first place?"

"He went to talk to Marshall after he found out what he…" Smithy almost let it slip about Marshall. He suddenly bit his bottom lip. He knew that he had already said too much. June looked confused.

"Go on Smithy, what do you know that you're not telling us?" June asked inquisitively.

"I can't say. You're right I do know something, but Gina's asked that I don't tell anyone. I owe it to her to keep it secret." Smithy decided to tell June part of the truth. At least letting her know that, she wouldn't keep pushing for the rest.

"Ok I understand. Is what Gina told you connected to the case?"

"Yes it is. The thing is, there is no point in bringing it up now because it wasn't raised in the original investigation, and there isn't enough evidence to prove it now either."

"Well we're here now anyway." June pulled the car up outside the bookmakers.

When they walked inside there were only a few people sat around screens watching races or looking at news papers. They approached a young woman no more than 22 at the desk. They both took out their warrant cards and showed them to the girl.

"I'm Sergeant Ackland; this is Sergeant Smith from Sun Hill. We're looking for Jack Marshall, is he around?" June asked, pulling rank.

"I'm not sure where he is at the moment. You could try the back office. If he's not there then he's probably at home."

June and Smithy walked into the back office only to find it empty.

"So what now then?" Smithy asked feeling hopelessly lost yet again.

"Well we'll just have to go round his house, won't we?" June replied.

Elsewhere, in the station, Jack watched as Andrew Peters was released.

_Great, 'nother dead end. That'll be the last time we see 'im. _ Jack walked over to a very smug Andrew Peters.

"Now, you understand the conditions of bail? You have to return to this station in a week. If you don't we will come after you, and we will get you. That's a promise Mr Peter's. Jo, will you show him out please?" Jack turned and watched him as he walked out of the station.

"Mickey, do us a favour. Take Terry with you and follow Peters. Let me know what he's up to. I don't want him leaving Sun Hill. He knows more about this than he's letting on."

Mickey walked out of the building and headed towards the car. Jack walked back to his office and shut the door.

Sam and Phil sat in Marie Murray's living room. She explained that Richard and Angus had fallen out a couple of weeks before hand.

"He's 23 now. He's missed out on a lot without his Dad. William and I got married about 10 years ago. By then Mark was 13, so he'd already missed out on so much."

"So Mark was Richards's son?" Sam asked. Marie nodded her head.

"Richard only got to see his son once; just after he was born. One of the prison guards brought him in to see us whilst I was still in hospital. Then he hung himself a week later. Gina kept in touch, that's Richards' sister…"

"Yes we know Gina well. She's our Inspector at Sun Hill." Sam filled in. She seemed more interested in what Marie had to say than Phil was.

"I never believed that Richard killed Angus. They were like brothers and the four of us were really close when we were growing up. Gina and I stayed really close friends and we were there for each other when our brothers died. Gina never got over his death but she tends to hide it. She hates talking about it; guess it's too painful."

"If you don't think Richard did it, who do you think did?" Phil asked bluntly.

"I don't know. My brother was good man; I don't know who killed him. I just know it wasn't Richard."

"Is there any reason that you can think of, why someone would want to murder Angus?"

"No, nothing that I can think of. Angus worked in a computer shop on Church Street and kept himself to himself. He never went out with anyone else but a few mates." A single tear streaked down Maries face. Sam reached over and gave her a tissue.

"Thanks. I'm sorry. It's not often I talk about Angus' and Richards' deaths, and when I do it's very painful." Marie said rather more tearfully than she had intended.

"That's ok, we understand. I think we've asked everything we need to know for now." Sam said as she stood up from where she had been sitting. "If you ever want to talk or remember anything that could help our investigation, just give me a call." Sam took a card from her pocket and placed it on the table.

Outside Sam and Phil approached the car. Sam felt a little down heartened. She really wanted to get a result on this one after speaking to Marie, as well as get the result for Gina.

"What do you say we head back to the Nic; see what the others have come up with?" Sam asked Phil. Granted it was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes boss." Phil mocked with a playful smile.

Smithy pulled the car up outside 11 Teasel Street. A blue car was parked outside on the drive. As they got out of the car, Smithy noticed someone peering down at them from an upstairs window.

When they reached the door a woman in her fifties answered.

"Can't you lot just leave us in peace. He told ya', he don't know anything about an armed robbery." Smithy looked confused. Clearly Jack Marshall hadn't given up his old tricks.

"Sorry Mrs Marshall. We're Sergeants Smith and Ackland from Sun Hill Police Station. We're here to speak to your husband about another case. Is he in?" Smithy had no time for this woman or her husband. He wanted to get this over and done with as soon as possible.

"He's inside. But if you lot are coming in 'ere to try an' pin something else on 'im, then you can clear off now." Marshall's wife said as she stepped aside to let the officers past.

"Jack, there are two police officers 'ere to see you." His wife turned on her heel and left the room after showing Smithy and June in.

"What can I do to help you officers? Haven't forgotten to pay a parking fine have I?" He sneered. It was taking him all his time for Smithy not to chin him one.

"Mr Marshall, we are here to talk to you about a reopened murder case. Would you mind accompanying us to the station? We'd like to ask you a few questions." June said.

"Do I have any choice in the matter?" He replied as he raised himself from the seat

June settled Jack Marshall in one of the interview rooms. Smithy thought it would be a good idea to let Gina know that he was in the Station. He didn't want her walking in to custody and coming face to face with the man who had raped her.

He knocked on her office door and opened it slowly.

"Morning Gina. How are you today?" Smithy could see that she hadn't had much sleep. She had dark rings under eyes and looked exhausted.

"Morning Smithy. I'm not too bad thank you. Granted that'll be the last time I stay up half the night talking to Alex; it's left me knackered." Gina and Smithy both smiled and laughed.

"I thought I'd better let you know. We've brought Jack Marshall in for questioning. He's not under caution…yet…but June is interviewing him just now."

Gina's blood ran cold for a couple of seconds. Smithy noticed the look on Ginas face. He suddenly felt guilty and responsible for making her feel like that.

"Sorry, we shouldn't have brought him back here."

"Don't be so ridiculous Smithy. You have to interview him as part of the investigation…"

"Yeah, but…"

"No buts. I've lived and dealt with what happened for the last thirty odd years. I was going to have to see him eventually; and after what he did to my brother, I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of having the upper hand." Gina could feel herself getting angry. Jack Marshall had a lot to answer for, and now, she was more determined than ever to see justice served and see him behind bars.

"You'd better go join June or she'll start the interview without you."

"Are you sure you'll be ok Gina?" Smithy was concerned about how Gina was really taking this.

"I'm fine. Now off you go Sergeant Smith."

"Ma'am" With that Smithy walked out of her office and into custody.


	9. Chapter 9

"Mr Marshall, we've asked you to come in to answer some questions regarding Richard Gold. We've reopened the murder case from 1982 against him. Can you go over the events from the night Angus Darling died please?" June asked more politely than Jack Marshall deserved.

"Richard Gold did it, he was found guilty 24 years ago, so why have you lot reopened it?" Marshall snapped.

"Because Mr Marshall, some new evidence has come to light. So please just answer the question." June sat back in her chair. She was trying to look calm even though she felt anxious.

At that moment Smithy walked in to the interview room.

"For the benefit of the tape, Sergeant Smith has just walked into the room. So, what can you tell us about the night Angus Darling died?"

"I already made a statement when it happened. Angus and I were in the back office in a business meeting…"

"What kind of business meeting?" Smithy cut in before Marshall had time to continue.

"We were discussing computer systems. Granted they were very basic back then, weren't they? He worked for a computer shop so I was asking his advice. We were in the middle of our discussion when Richard burst in shouting the odds."

"What was he mouthing off about?" Smithy interrogated.

"He was shouting at Angus, telling him it was pay back time. I think Angus had put a spanner in the works between Richard and Marie. They'd been seeing each other, Marie was Angus' sister, Angus wasn't very happy when he found out about their relationship. Before I knew it Richard pulled a gun from under his jacket and aimed it at Angus. He was still shouting at him when he pulled the trigger. I thought he was going to shoot me as well."

"What did he do next?" June asked feeling suspicious.

"He didn't flinch or anything. He turned round, opened the door and left."

"What did you do?" Smithy asked trying not to glare at him.

"I rang for the police and an ambulance. I checked for a pulse but he was already dead."

"When Richard shot Angus, where was he standing?" Smithy asked. Marshall looked rather confused.

"What do you mean, where was he standing?"

"It's a simple question Mr Marshall. Was he standing close to you or far away?" Smithy rephrased the question, rather smugly. He liked seeing Marshall worry.

"Oh I see. He was stood over by the door; just behind the desk."

"Ok. So explain to me where you and Angus were sat." Smithy asked. Again he saw a brief flick of fear flash in Jack Marshall's eyes.

"Angus was standing by the bookcase that was at the back of the office; I was sat close by in an arm chair."

June could see Smithy was desperate to ask more questions but she didn't want Marshall getting suspicious about their intentions so she ended the interview.

"Ok Mr Marshall. That's everything just now. Interview terminated 11:57."

Outside the interview room June looked at Smithy.

"What was that about? You were interrogating him as if he was a suspect." June said rather concerned that Smithy may be losing perspective.

"Yeah, well he is a suspect." Smithy replied.

"Yes but he wasn't brought in as a suspect. He was brought in as a witness to help us with our enquiries."

"Well, I found out some interesting information from those few questions." Smithy explained with a large grin on his face. "There are a few things that he said in there that don't tally with his original statement or the coroners report."

"To be fair Smithy you can't expect him to remember every single detail from over twenty years ago, do you?"

"No, but if you saw someone get shot right in front of you, I think you'd remember a lot more than he did. I'm going to let Gina know how it went and then I'm going to look over the coroners report again."

"Ok. I'll tell the DCI and find out how Sam and Phil got on at Marie's house."

They went off in different directions. Smithy headed straight towards Ginas' office.

"Hi Gina. We've just finished interviewing Marshall." Smithy sat down in the chair opposite Ginas' desk.

Gina put her pen down and looked away from the paperwork she had been doing, giving Smithy her full attention.

"How did you get on? Bet he didn't give you much, did he?" Gina said looking frustrated.

"Actually, he was a lot more helpful than he thinks he was." Smithy said very pleased with himself.

"Oh, really? What happened?" Gina asked curiously.

"Well there are some holes in his statement. The coroners report on Angus says he was shot twice in the head. It also states that he was sat when he was shot at close range. Now this is where it gets interesting. When we interviewed Marshall, he claimed that Angus was standing up and that your brother was standing by the door. He didn't mention anything about the second shot. I'm going to look over the full report again just to check a few of the finer details, but…"

"We may have cornered him." Gina said optimistically. She suddenly looked down heartened again. "He'll probably worm his way out of it. He's very good at that. He'll hire the best brief and it will all blow over, again."

Smithy hated seeing Gina like this. She was normally so determined and confident.

"Gina, we will get him. I don't care if it takes me months, I will keep on top of this until I get him. Have you opened your letter yet?"

"No not yet. I left it at home."

Smithy decided to change the subject. "So what did you and Alex get up to last night after I left?" He asked, mischievously raising one eyebrow.

Gina smiled. "Nothing really. We just talked about when we worked together at her first station. She was talking about this place and when she used to visit as a little girl."

"Oh yeah of course, her Grandad was the Chief Superintendent here before Branlow."

"Yep. She's decided to transfer from Barton Street. Between you and me, she's trying to come here. She thinks it would be a fresh start for her, yet she already knows everyone here so she won't be completely starting again."

"It would be really nice to have her working here with us. As you've said, she knows everyone here and she spends more time here than at her own Nic."

"That's true. It would be really nice to work with her again. I've known her since her first day as a probationer. Gosh that was nearly fourteen years ago. I'm going to speak to Heaton, put in a good word for her. We were going to interview for a new Sergeant soon for when Stephen Bishop leaves. If I get in early enough she may get there first. Anyway, you'd better go do what ever it was you were going to do, 'cause it ain't going to do itself, is it?"

"Absolutely Ma'am. I'll keep you posted."

Gina just looked on at Smithy and smiled. _He_'s _lovely_ _but he definitely_ _worries far too much; and he's been round me too long._ She thought laughing to herself.

Terry slowly pulled the car in behind some garages. He and Mickey had been following Andrew Peters for the last hour and a half. He hadn't done anything too suspicious, yet. To the best of their knowledge there was no connection to Peters and the garage he was standing outside of.

"What do you suppose he's waiting for?" Terry asked.

At that moment a black car pulled up next to where Peters was standing.

"Oh, here we go. What do you think that's about? Looks like he knows the guy anyway."

Mickey pulled the radio out of the glove compartment.

"Sierra Oscar from DC Webb, can I get a vehicle check please on a black Honda index, golf golf 2 3 whiskey x-ray Zulu."

After a few moments the radio crackled its reply.

"The vehicle is registered to a Robert Sanderson. Sanderson is wanted in connection to an armed robbery and the car was seen driving away from the scene."

"Could you cross reference Robert Sanderson with Andrew Peters and any other known associates?"

"Ok, will do." Replied the CAD officer at the station.

"So, what do you want to do? Shall we bring him in or watch for a while?" Terry asked.

"Well there's no point in bringing him in. What would we charge him with? Talking to a flash guy with a flash motor? We'll wait for a bit. See what CAD says about Sanderson and decide then. Besides, the gov' told us to follow him, not nic him." Mickey looked at Terry. They both knew he was right, even though Terry wouldn't admit it.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Mickey asked.

"I don't know but what ever it is, neither looks very happy 'bout it." Terry stated.

Andrew Peter's and the other guy were clearly arguing about something. The other guy was tall. He was wearing a black leather jacket and designer jeans. He was bald with a distinctive tattoo on the back of his head and neck. Peter's was slightly shorter than the other bloke and clearly wasn't able to stand up to him.

As Mickey and Terry watched the two men, their argument became more heated. Before the two officers knew it Sanderson was laying into Andrew. Mickey and Terry rushed out of the car as quickly as they could; unfortunately, they were already too late to catch Sanderson as he dived into his car and drove out of sight. Mickey ran up to Andrew Peter's who was laid on the floor in agony clutching his stomach. Terry had gone back to the car to put out a call over the radio to all units and to get an ambulance.

As Mickey assessed the extent of his injuries, he noticed a large stab wound to Peter's abdomen.

"I've put the call out; an ambulance should be here shortly mate." Terry told Mickey whilst he tried to slow the blood seeping from the deep gash.

After a few minutes the air filled with the sound of sirens and the area bustled into action. Mickey and Terry looked on as Andrew was rushed off to casualty. Jack Meadows approached his two officers, not looking best pleased.

"What the hell happened? I asked you to keep an eye on him. Yet, I get a phone call to say that he's been stabbed by some bloke who's driven off. You were parked only a few meters away, so how did you not manage to reach them before it got out of hand?" Jack reprimanded.

"Sorry Gov'. It all happened so fast. We didn't want to go in because we didn't want to blow our cover. The argument was getting heated but we didn't think they would turn violent. Before we knew it Peters was on the ground and the other bloke sped off." Mickey tried to explain. Jack always had had a soft spot for the young DC so it was pretty hard to stay mad at him for too long.

"Ok Mickey, Terry. You've done your best here. Head down to ST Hughes let me know what happens with him." Jack told his two officers. Happy that all bases had been covered he left everyone to it.

Smithy sat in his office looking through file after file. He'd found quite a few interesting facts about Jack Marshall; none of which were good. He had several criminal convictions to his name. Armed robbery, GBH, arson… to name a few. The list was endless. Something else on the file caught his eye. The file claimed that Marshall was suspected, all be it never proved, of illegally lending money to people in the 80's and early 90's.

_So he was a loan shark. That's interesting, very interesting. _Smithy thought to himself.

Smithy was curious as to why Marshall would want to kill Angus. As far Smithy could see, there was no link between the two men. Smithy picked up the information he had on Angus. There was very little to say about him. He didn't have a criminal record and there was nothing to say that he should suspect other wise. The one thing Smithy noticed was the fact that Angus had bought the computer shop he worked in. Looking at the date he could see that he had bought it a few months before he died. Smithy suddenly had a thought.

Smithy picked up the telephone receiver. "Gina, can you come across for a couple of minutes?" He asked.

Gina walked across the hall to the Sergeants office.

"What can I help you with?" Gina asked as she walked through the door.

"Jack Marshall was suspected of illegally lending money about twenty years ago, yet nothing was ever proved. At the time of his death, Angus bought the computer shop he worked for. I want to check his financial situation from that time and find out how he paid for the shop. At the moment I'm struggling to find a motive. I wanted to ask you how likely it was that Marshall could have leant Angus the money?"

"It's possible. Don't you think it's a bit of a jump though; going from nothing to this?" Gina said, trying to keep a realistic view of the investigation. She had seen the case reopened too many times before and seen so many 'breakthroughs' for it then to fizzle out to nothing.

"It's got to be worth investigating though Gina. Like you said, we've got nothing to go on so we've got nothing to lose." Smithy stated. He almost pleaded with her. He knew she was feeling a little fragile and lost at the moment, even if she wouldn't admit it.

"You're right. So, what were you thinking?" She asked a little more optimistic.

"Well, I don't know yet. I want to look at his credit rating, bank details… anything I can get my hands on. Thing is, I don't quite know where to start. Most of the information like that would be hard to get hold of after twenty odd years; mainly because it wasn't collected during the original investigation." Smithy through his pen down on the table in frustration. He may have had a slight breakthrough but it would be no use without the evidence.

Gina looked at Smithy. She knew how hard he was working on this case and knew he was finding it difficult to find anything new.

"Look, take a break from this for a bit. It hasn't been solved in twenty four years, so a few more minutes ain't going to make any difference, is it?" Gina walked to the door.

"Come on, you still owe me a coffee." She said smiling.

Smithy rolled his eyes at her. "I hoped you'd forgotten 'bout that. Then again Gina Gold never forgets anything." They both laughed and walked to the canteen.


	10. Chapter 10

"So, what did you find out from Marie?" June asked Sam.

"Well, she never thought that Richard did it. She says that nobody would have a reason to kill her brother, especially not Richard. Apparently Richard, Angus, Gina and Marie grew up together, so they all knew each other pretty well. Did you know that Richard and Marie had a son together?" Sam asked.

"No, I didn't realize that. How old is he?"

"He's 23. Richard only saw his son once, just after he was convicted. He saw Marie in hospital and then killed himself a couple of weeks later. How did you get on with Jack Marshall?" Sam inquired.

"Well I don't know. Smithy reckons he got a lot from the interview but I'm not convinced. He's sticking to his story that it was Richard who did it." June filled in.

"So what does Smithy think he's got from the interview?"

"There are a few holes between the statement he's given us today, and the one he gave originally."

June and Sam were interrupted as Smithy came over looking both pleased yet irritated.

"What've you got for us then?" Sam asked.

"Up until now there has never been a link between Jack Marshall and Angus Darling. I was looking at Marshalls' record, he was suspected of illegally lending money to a number of people. Nothing was ever proved because no-one was prepared to make a statement against him."

"So what's this got to do with Darling?" June asked.

"Well, about seven months before his murder, Angus bought the computer shop he worked in. At the moment I don't have anything to back my theory up but…"

"But you think he could have borrowed money from Marshall to pay for it." Sam stated. "That's a good theory, but at the moment that is all it is. We need to try and find out how he paid for the shop. Smithy, would you mind if I swapped and worked with you on this lead?"

"No course not."

"Ok June, talk to Gina and see if there's anything more she can tell you and if you could find out who owned the shop before Angus…"

"Right. What will you two do?" She asked.

"We'll go down to the computer shop on Church Street."

"Is it still there?" Smithy asked.

"Yeah. It's a lot bigger now than when it started. I'm not sure who owns it but they set up computer systems for businesses and offer a repair service." Sam explained.

"How do you know this?" Smithy asked looking as if he had missed something along the way.

"Do you ever pay attention Smithy? Remember a couple of months back, we had that bug in the system and it brought nearly every computer in the station down; when we were told it would take a few days before we could get someone from our own computer service to come out, we hired someone from that shop to come fix it." Sam filled in the rest.

"Oh yeah I remember that. We had to close the whole of custody for the day. Caused absolute chaos." June commented.

"Let us know how you get on June when you find out who owned it before hand. We'll meet back here in a couple of hours. I think the DCI wants a full briefing by then."

The three officers parted company, each heading to do their own investigating.

June sat in Ginas' office discussing the computer shop and what they had come up with so far. Gina told June as much as she could.

"I remember Angus saying he wanted to buy the shop. Originally Angus and Richard were going to buy it together but Richard couldn't afford to. Angus understood and no more was said about it." Gina told June.

"Do you know who owned the shop before Angus bought it?"

"Harold Harrison if memory serves me right. He was getting on a bit and was planning his retirement. He passed it onto his son George but he didn't keep the best of health. Originally when Harold owned it he sold general house hold items. The shop was a little dated; after all it had been running since the 1930's. When George took it over he updated it. He started selling electrical items like TV's and radios etc. It wasn't until the year before Angus died that they started selling computers. Richard and Angus used to work there after school and then full time when they left. As I said, George didn't keep the best of health and he didn't have any family to pass the business onto. Angus decided to buy it from him. Angus dealt with the computer side of things. Computers hadn't taken off properly by then but Angus felt that, that side of the business was doing well." That was as much as Gina could remember. She didn't have much to do with the Harrison family and their shop.

"My father wanted Richard to take over his business. Richard on the other hand didn't. My father owned a chain of bookies across the east end of London. Richard was always worried that he would turn out to be just like our father."

"Thanks Gina. I'll let Smithy and Sam know. Do you know who owns it now?"

"Yes, of course I do. He's my nephew. After Angus died Marie took over the business, she didn't want to sell it so she hired someone to run it for her. That's how she met William, it was him she hired."

Sam and Smithy looked round the shop. It was clearly very successful. There was about half a dozen people in buying one thing or another. There was a young guy wandering round the shop making sure everyone was ok. On seeing them he walked over to where they were.

"Can I help you with anything?" He asked.

"We're looking for the owner of this shop." Sam said.

"Well you're in luck, you're looking at him."

"Well I'm DS Nixon, my colleague is Sergeant Smith, we're from Sun Hill. Would you mind telling us your name?"

"I'm Mark, Mark Gold." He replied, offering his hand to the officers.

"Mark Gold, you wouldn't be Richard Gold's son would you?" Sam asked.

"The very same. Did you say you from Sun Hill? Don't suppose you know my Aunt, Gina Gold? I think she's an Inspector there."

"Yeah that's right. She's a good friend of mine actually." Smithy told him.

"Could we go some where more private please? We have something we would like to discuss with you." Sam said.

"Yeah sure. I'll take you upstairs; I live in the flat above." Mark replied and walked them up to his flat.

He settled them in the living room and brought through some drinks for them all.

"So what is it that you've come to talk to me about?" He asked.

"We've reopened the murder investigation into your Uncles death and your fathers' conviction. Some new evidence came to our attention a couple of days ago. We don't believe that Richard murdered anyone. We're working on the bases that he was set up for it. Up until now we haven't been able to establish a link between Angus and one of our suspects. However, we think Angus may have borrowed money from this suspect to buy this place." Smithy explained cautiously. He wasn't sure how Mark would react and he didn't want to let slip something that could ruin any chance of a conviction.

"You'd probably have to talk to my Mum or William about that. I don't know much about the business before William took over as manager."

"That's fine. We wouldn't expect you to remember something like that. What we were hoping for was for some old paper work or something confirming the sale of the place." Sam said.

"Well my Mum has all the paperwork. She doesn't really have much to do with the business but occasionally she helps with the finances." Mark explained.

"Well that's a great help. We'll keep you posted with any new information."

"Thanks. I never got to meet either my Uncle or my Dad, so please find the person who's responsible for their deaths. Say hi to Gina for me."

"We will. Thanks Mark, you've been a great help." Sam said as she headed for the door.

Gina was going through all her reports and paper work that she had accumulated over the last couple of days. Her phone started to ring and she answered it expecting it to be Alex or Smithy.

"Hello?"

"Hello Gina. It's Marie. Just thought I would give you a call, see how you were getting on."

"Marie, hi. How are you? I haven't spoken to you in a while. Suppose they've spoken to you about the investigation."

"Yes, two of your sergeants came round earlier. I wanted to know if you wanted to meet up for a cup of coffee or something."

"That would be nice. I'm kind of snowed under here, would you mind coming to the station? We could get something in the canteen."

"Yeah sounds great. I'll see you in an hour."

Gina ended the call. Seeing Marie just now felt like a good idea. She would know exactly how Gina would be feeling, as she would be having the same thoughts and feelings as her. Gina settled herself back to her paperwork and tried to take her mind off the investigation.

On their way to Marie Murrays' house, Smithy's phone started to ring. It came up with a number he didn't recognize.

"Hello, Sergeant Smith?" He answered looking confused, but his expression changed when he realized who the voice belonged to.

"Ok, I'll come over straight away." He said as he hung up.

"Who was that?" Sam asked.

"It was John Campbell; he's the Gov'ner at Longmarsh prison. He's asked if I can come to Longmarsh right now. Sounded quite important. We're not too far from there now. If you take a left just here it will take us onto the road leading to Longmarsh."

Sam did as she was told and aimed the car for Longmarsh prison. They agreed to go to Marie's house straight afterwards.

They sat in John Campbells' office waiting for him to come in. When he came in he was holding two files. He placed them on the desk in front of the two officers.

"I remembered something that may help with your enquiries. A couple of months before Richard was banged up; two known associates of Jack Marshall were brought in. They'd been arrested for armed robbery. There were more involved but they were the only two caught. Alistair Peters was one of the armed robbers; Ewan Franklin was the getaway driver. When Richard was brought in Alistair made his life hell."

"Alistair Peters wouldn't be related to Andrew Peters by any chance?" Smithy asked.

"Yeah that's right, they're brothers. Andrew was suspected as a part of the armed robbery but it was never proved. Anyway, that's the files for both inmates. You can take them away with you and read them. Again, if you need any help with your enquiries…"

"We know where to come. Thanks again John, you've been a great help. We'll bring the files back as soon as."

The two officers left and headed for Maries house.

"This is DS Baines. Unfortunately DS Fraser had to deal with another case so Baines has been put onto this case instead." DI Franks explained to Jack.

"Ok. Is he up to speed on the case?" Jack asked feeling harassed. Mickey had just phoned him to say that Andrew Peters had lost a lot of blood and was being taken into theatre. It wasn't looking good and there was a strong chance that he could die. If he did die any evidence and information would die with him.

"Ok well I'm just about to start the briefing so if you want to walk this way…" Jack said as he led the DI through to the briefing room.

At the briefing all the officers explained to each other what they had found. Smithy and Sam came back to the station after getting no reply from Marie. Terry came back from the hospital for the briefing leaving Mickey waiting for news.

Smithy and Sam had had the biggest breakthrough. Establishing some sort of a link between Marshall and Angus helped the others reflect on the information they'd been given.

Terry explained about Robert Sanderson. He had looked him up on crimint when he returned to the station. Sanderson had been involved in the armed robbery that Alistair Peters and Ewan Franklin were involved in. Peters and Franklin had been the only two identified by the victim of the robbery, but many more were suspected including Marshall.

"Ok everyone. You've done really well today so keep up the hard work. Go home and get some rest and come back tomorrow refreshed." Jack sent his officers home. They all looked exhausted.

"Anyone up for coming to the pub?" Phil asked his colleagues.

Most agreed to go for a couple of pints. Smithy decided to head down to Ginas office and see how she was coping.

He walked round to her office and filled her in with all the details from the briefing and the day's events.

"Well, I've had enough for one day." Gina said as she stood up and switched off her computer.

"Yeah me an all. I'll see you tomorrow Gina." Smithy said as he headed for the door to her office.

"Bye." She shouted after him as she headed for the female changing rooms.


	11. Chapter 11

Smithy was in earlier than he would be normally. He wanted to get a head start on the case. He was looking through Ewan Franklins file when something caught his attention.

It looked like a statement written by Ewan Franklin a couple of weeks before Richards' death. Smithy looked at the statement and read it over and over._ That can't be right, can it?_ Smithy asked himself. He looked at his watch. It was too early to try and speak to Campbell so he thought he would try and find the DCI. _He's often in quite early. I'll see what he makes to this._ Smithy thought.

He walked up to CID and knocked on the DCI's door.

"Come in" Jack said looking up to see who it was. "Smithy, you're in early."

"Yeah Gov', I thought I'd start early and try to get a head start."

"Have you spoken to Gina at all?" Jack asked.

"Yeah I have. She asked me to keep her updated with what was going on. I think this has hit her harder than she's admitting." Smithy admitted.

"Well from what I've been told, she was very close to her brother. What did you want to see me about anyway?"

"I've been going through some of the records for the known associates of Jack Marshall. This was one of the files given to me by John Campbell. Ewan Franklin made a statement saying there was a plot to kill Richard and make it look like suicide. I'm going to speak to Campbell and Franklin. I want to know more about this."

"Ok but keep me posted… In fact, would you mind if I came with you to Longmarsh?"

"Sure Gov' that would be great. I'm heading that way as soon as possible." Smithy explained.

"Right, well let me know when you're ready to leave."

Smithy and Jack Meadows sat waiting for Ewan Franklin to be brought through. They didn't have to wait too long before he was brought in by two prison officers.

"Thanks, we can take it from here." Jack said as he sent the two guards to wait outside the door.

They explained to him why they were there and the fact that they had reopened the murder case.

"A couple of weeks before Richards's suicide you made a statement saying someone was planning to murder him. What can you tell us about that?" Smithy asked.

"I owed Marshall money. That's how I ended up in here. I couldn't pay him back so he forced me to be the getaway driver on that blag; he threatened my wife and kid's so I had no choice. Thing is, when I was brought here he still controlled me through Alistair Peters. When Richard was brought in for murdering Angus he told me what really happened."

"Why did he confide in you about it?" Smithy asked.

"I knew Richard, we went way back. He wanted me to help prove his innocence. Alistair was given his orders by Marshall, he had to knock Richard about, make sure he didn't tell anyone the truth. He'd already been telling a couple of people about what happened, those of us who knew what Marshall was like believed him. It meant that he was becoming a liability, so Marshall told Peters that he had to get rid of him and make it look like suicide so it wasn't suspicious. He wanted me to help, pulling my strings by telling me he would hurt my family if I didn't. It was all set up. However, a couple of weeks before hand I lost my bottle. I wasn't a criminal and certainly not a murderer. I told Campbell what was going on and he sorted it. He took my statement and made sure my wife and two little boys were safe." Ewan explained.

"So why did Richard kill himself? If things were looking up for him, he had no need to die." Smithy said, trying to make sense of the information he had just been given.

"That's just the thing…" Ewan started to explain when John Campbell interrupted.

"Ok that's enough for now. Thank you Ewan, if you could just head back to your cell for now." John watched as Ewan walked out of the room and was taken back to his cell.

"What the hell did you do that for John? He was just about to tell us something really important." Jack raged.

"Yeah that's just it. He nearly let slip something that I've tried to keep secret for twenty four years." John sighed and sat down in front of Smithy and Jack.

John could see that they weren't going to rest until they heard what he had to say. John sighed and started to explain.

"You need to keep this to yourself because this information could still endanger his life."

"What exactly do you mean John?" Jack said sounding frustrated.

"At one point some new evidence was found while Richard was still inside. It proved his innocence but not who really killed Angus. It was about this time that Ewan came to me and explained what Marshall had told him and Peters to do. I realized that Richard was always going to be in danger until Marshall was caught. Thing was I also knew there were officers on his payroll, if you catch my meaning. Marshall would never be caught because he was always one step ahead of everyone else. Anyway, it was too dangerous to release Richard while Marshall was still out there so we came up with a solution. We would file a false report and fake his suicide; he would then change his name and move out to Spain. As far as everyone is concerned Richard Gold died in 1982. That is exactly how it needs to stay because if Marshall finds out Richard is still alive, then it puts his life in danger all over again."

"Hang on just one minute. You're telling me that Gina has been mourning the death of her brother for twenty four years, and he's really sunning himself on the Costa del Sol?" Smithy spat angrily.

"It's not quite like that. By faking his suicide it protected not only Richard but every member of his family. There are things about Marshall, things that he has done that you can't imagine or will ever read about on a file. You already know Sergeant Smith what he did to Gina; look how he ruined her life."

"I'm sorry, have I missed something? What did Marshall do to Gina?" Jack asked starting to get angry. He felt like everyone was keeping him in the dark and making a mockery of his investigation.

Smithy just sat in silence and looked at John.

"I'll ask again, what did Marshall do to Gina? And I want the truth."

"Sorry Gov' but Gina asked me not to say anything to anyone."

"Right now I don't care. I want to know the full facts of this case starting from now instead of only hearing little bits here and there."

"Alright Gov', but you can't tell anyone about this. Don't let on to Gina that you know either 'cause she'd be really upset if she knew anyone else knew. Marshall raped her when she was twenty four; she fell pregnant as a result and gave her baby away for adoption. Richard didn't go to the bookies that night to speak to Angus, he went to see Marshall. He found a box of things Gina kept hidden and realized she had a daughter; she explained everything that happened and that was that." Smithy explained feeling ashamed of himself for betraying Gina.

"Why was this never raised in the investigation?" Jack asked.

"Gina never reported it and she wanted to keep it in her past. She didn't want anyone, especially Jack Marshall, finding out 'bout her daughter either.

"I see. Well, I won't pass that on to anyone else. I just wish I'd been told from the start. So what was the evidence that proved his innocence?" Jack asked.

"Someone came forward and made a statement saying that Richard had been in the bookies talking to them just as they heard a gunshot. In other words Richard couldn't have a shot Angus because he wasn't near the office when it happened. There was a second witness who backed this up. However, neither could confirm that it was Marshall who pulled the trigger. I think they were too scared to admit it."

"So what happened to these statements?" Smithy enquired.

"After we presented it to the equivalent of MIT at the time, and then proved Richard was innocent with a Judge; we destroyed them. If Marshall had have gotten hold of them it would have put the witness' and Richards lives in danger."

"How could the two witnesses' not identify Marshall as the murderer?" Jack asked curiously.

"Neither actually saw him in the bookmakers. As soon as they heard gunfire they left the building as quick as they could. Richard ran into the office just in time to see Marshall pull the trigger for the second time. Marshall was then able to say it was Richard who shot Angus because he was the only one with a motive."

"Yeah, do you know why Richard and Angus fell out?" Smithy no longer believed that they fell out over Richards' relationship with Angus' sister Marie.

"Angus owed Marshall money. He couldn't afford the repayments so Marshall told him he had to do a job for him or his family would get hurt. Angus cared for his family so naturally he went along with the plan. However he let it slip to Richard what he was going to do and Richard threatened to go to the police with it. After arguing about it, they decided to go to the police together. Angus then changed his mind so Richard told him he didn't want anymore to do with it. We think Marshall found out what Angus had planned to do, so killed him because he though he was a grass and a liability."

"Does Gina really not know that her brother is still alive?" Smithy asked. He was struggling to take it in. Knowing this information made him feel more guilty and more like he was betraying Gina.

"No she doesn't and she can't find out that he is, otherwise it will put her life in danger as well as his."

Smithy just nodded his head in dazed agreement. He knew John was right but he still felt that Gina had a right to know the truth.

After a little more discussion, Jack and Smithy finally left for Sun Hill nic. John just went back to his office. He picked up his telephone and dialed out.

"Hi Richard? Hi it's John Campbell here…


	12. Chapter 12

Smithy walked round the office, thinking hard about what Campbell had told him and the DCI.

_I have to tell Gina. How can I not? She's been devastated by this for the last twenty years, and now I find out her brother is alive._

Smithy mulled everything over for a while. He sat back down at his desk and pulled a file closer to him. It belonged to Jack Marshall and had a list of his associates and contacts. He was concentrating so hard that he hadn't noticed Gina standing in the doorway.

"Morning Smithy. Not working too hard I hope, don't want you over doing things now do we?" Gina said with a tired smile.

"Sorry Gina, I didn't notice you standing there. How long have been there for?"

"Not long, a couple of minutes maybe. How long have you been in? It's only eleven and I haven't seen you at all." Gina was feeling concerned about Smithy. She knew he was working very hard on this case and figured he had been in a lot earlier than he should have been.

Smithy tried to stifle a yawn. Gina noticed and looked at her watch.

"Tell you what, do you fancy coming for refs?"

Smithy looked at the pile of files in front of him and character statements.

"It hasn't been solved in twenty four years Smithy, fifteen minutes isn't going to make much difference, is it? Besides, you still owe me a coffee." Gina said grinning.

"Trust you to remember that. Then again Gina Gold forgets nothing." Smithy replied.

They walked out of the Sergeants office and headed towards the canteen, laughing and joking as if nothing was any different. Even though he couldn't shift the feeling of guilt, he knew that he was doing the right thing by not telling Gina about Richard, for now anyway.

Andrew Peters was out of theatre and all was looking good. It was looking more and more like he was going to pull through. Mickey had stayed all night. He was in the waiting room waiting for news. Jack opened the door to the waiting area to find Mickey struggling to stay awake.

"How you doing?" He asked with his usual fatherly tone.

"I'm shattered. It took them hours before they told me what was going on. There is good news though; it looks like he's going to pull through. I'm waiting for him to come round so I can go interview him." Mickey explained.

"No you aren't. You need to go home and get some rest. You've been here all night and enough is enough. Go home get some sleep and come back when you're feeling refreshed."

"But Gov'…" Mickey started to interrupt.

"No buts. You're not going to be much use to me if you're half a sleep, are you? I'll interview Peters'"

"Gov. But will you let me know how you get on?" Mickey asked whilst yawning.

"Course I will. Now off you go."

Jack didn't have to wait long until a nurse came through to speak to him.

"DCI Meadows? Mr Peters' is ready to talk now. You can't stay too long as he'll need his rest but you can have a few minutes with him."

"Thank you. That's great, I just need to ask a couple of questions, shouldn't take too long."

The nurse showed Jack in to the private room where Andrew Peters laid attached to machines and wires.

"Mr Peters, it's DCI Meadows. I've come to ask you a couple of questions about your stabbing."

"You don't need to know anything. It was a couple of kids." Andrew replied rather groggily.

"Well that's funny considering two of my officers saw one bloke in his thirties do it, isn't it?"

"Clearly they need their eyes testing then." Andrew said.

"We've identified your attacker as Robert Sanderson. Who is he?"

"I haven't a clue; the name doesn't ring any bells. Now if you don't mind, I need rest." Andrews dismissed Jack.

Jack knew he wouldn't get anywhere so he excused himself and headed out of the hospital.

"What've we got on Robert Sanderson?" Jack asked Sam.

"Well we know for a fact that he is one of Jack Marshall's closest associates. He was involved in most of his jobs, one way or another. He's had three convictions and served ten years behind bars." Sam explained what she had found during her investigating.

"Have we found any reason why he would want to stab Peters?" Jack quizzed.

"Not yet Gov but I'm working on it. Take it he was no help at the hospital?"

"No, he was worse than useless. Reckoned it was a couple of kids." Jack rolled his eyes. "Well let me know if you find out anything useful."

"Ok, will do Gov." Sam replied.

Smithy sat in his office again, poring over file after file. There were lists of known associates, suspected associates and victims. There were very few statements made against him though from those who had fallen prey to his 'charms'. As Smithy looked over the list of suspected associates, he came across a name he recognized. _Now, why do I recognize that name?_ He thought. It didn't matter how hard he tried, he couldn't think who it was. _I'm sure it will come to me eventually._

At that moment his phone started ringing. He took it out of his pocket and pressed answer.

"Hello Sergeant Smith. Really? No, no, it's fine. I'll meet you there in half an hour." He ended the call, grabbed his coat and headed straight out to the yard.

Jack called a meeting with DI Franks and DS Baines. He explained to them what they had already found out.

"Well, we now know that Jack Marshall was a loan shark. We think that he loaned money to Angus Darling so that he could buy the shop he worked in. However, he couldn't afford to make the repayments so Marshall forced him to be apart of one of his jobs. Angus told Richard what was going on, Richard wanted to go to the police with the information. At first Angus was up for it but then he lost his bottle. When Marshall found out that Angus was going to grass on them he killed him and framed Richard for it."

"Do you have any evidence to prove your theory?" DI Franks asked.

"Well we know that Marshall loaned money to quite a few people. A couple of people made statements against Marshall explaining that he was threatening to hurt their family if they didn't work on a job. One of them ended up in prison after being caught as the getaway driver on one such job. Sergeant Smith and I went to speak to him this morning."

"Do we know why Richard Gold committed suicide?" DS Baines asked.

Jack thought for a minute. How could he word this so it wouldn't give the game away?

"Alistair Peters was one of the robbers convicted with Ewan Franklin for that armed robbery. Under Marshalls' orders, Peters made Richards life a living hell. He knocked him about and threatened him to the point where it all got too much."

"Why would Marshall want to make Richards life difficult in prison?" DI Franks asked.

"He wanted to make sure Richard kept his mouth shut about what really happened the night Angus died. He needed someone to take the rap for Angus' murder and Richard would be prime candidate as he had motive."

At that moment Gina knocked on Jacks door. Seeing Gina for the first time since he found out Richard was in fact alive, made Jack feel as bad as Smithy.

"Come in Gina." Jack called her in.

"Sorry Jack, I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Gina asked, looking at DI Franks and DS Baines.

"No Gina, I think we're pretty much done here." Jack said nodding at the two officers.

After they left the room Jack showed Gina to a seat. Jack sat in his own seat behind his desk.

"What can I help you with Gina?" He asked.

"Well, I've been updated with bits and pieces, but I was wondering what you can tell me over all? Are you any closer to finding out the truth?"

Jack sat and talked to Gina for a good hour. They spoke about what they already knew and any new developments. The one thing Jack left out was the fact that Richard was in fact alive and living in Spain.

At that moment Smithy came running into the office.

"Sorry Gov but we need to get down to ST Hughes immediately. Someone's tried to kill Andrew Peters again." Jack and Smithy left the office and headed towards the hospital.

When they arrived everything seemed fairly calm. There were one or two uniformed officers taking statements from nurses and Doctors. Jack and Smithy walked into the room to find Andrew Peters with a couple of Doctors.

Jo approached the DCI and Smithy when she saw them.

"What happened Jo?" Jack asked.

"Apparently, Peters was a sleep. He'd been given heavy pain killers so he was pretty out of it. A nurse came through to check on him, to find a guy standing over Peters with a gun. She startled our friend who then aimed the gun at her; luckily he missed and caught the door frame, he pushed past her and ran off." Jo explained.

"Do we know where the guy is? Smithy asked.

"Security guards are checking CCTV footage now. All of the exits are covered so if he is still in the hospital then he can't get out."

"Do we have a description of the attacker?"

"Yeah, he was white wearing a black leather jacket, bald and he had a distinctive tattoo on the back of his neck." Jo read from her note book.

"That sounds like Robert Sanderson. Ok Jo, if you ask around and see if any one else saw him. Is Mr Peters fit enough to speak to?"

"He should be Gov. He isn't hurt, just shaken." Jo left the two officers to it.

Jack sat in the chair next to the bed.

"Right Mr Peters, are you ready to tell us exactly what is going on or do you have to get a bullet in your head before start helping us?" Jack said.

"I can't tell you anything. If I do, they'll kill me." Andrew stated.

"Well it looks to me as if they're going to kill you whether you help us or not. If you give us information, we can help protect you; otherwise, you're on your own mate." Smithy tried to coax Peters into helping.

Andrew weighed up his pros and cons. He could see he had no choice. He had more of a chance of living if he told Smithy and Jack the truth. He slowly nodded his head.

"Marshall wants me dead because of that gun. He thinks that I'm a grass and that I've screwed up." He explained.

"How did you come to be in possession of the gun in the first place?" Jack asked.

"The night Angus died, Jack wasn't on his own; I was there too. My brother Alistair told me I had to prove myself. Up until then I had proved a bit of a coward so I agreed to help Marshall sort out a little 'problem'. Marshall found out that Richard and Angus were going to go to the police about a job he had been planning. I just thought we were going to whack him about not kill him. Anyway, when Marshall pulled the out the gun and shot Angus I left through the side door, that's when Richard came in. He hadn't seen me. After he left Marshall gave me the gun, told me to ditch it…"

"But you kept it?" Jack half asked, half filled in.

"Yeah I did. As far as we were concerned I hadn't been there. At least that way it would only be Jacks word against Richard. As far as your lot were concerned Marshall had no reason to kill Angus, where as Richard had fallen out with Angus before hand. Richard was banged up for the murder and then to keep him quiet, Marshall had him killed so that he couldn't talk. They did it to make it look like suicide so nothing was ever suspected. That was until I dropped the gun the other day. I was worried that the officers who were looking round my house after my fight with Andrea would find it. I had it hidden under the floor boards in my living room. I was moving it when one of your officers chased me and it fell out of my pocket. When I realized, it was too late to go back, he already had it so I just ran."

Jack thought for a few moments. "Mr Peters, would you be willing to make a proper statement about this? If you do then it means that we can put Marshall away for good and we can give you proper protection." Jack tried to persuade him.

Peters looked thoughtful for a while. "It doesn't matter if you put him away though, he'll always be able to find me no matter what."

"Yeah but at least you would no where he was in prison, on the streets you would be constantly looking over your shoulders, fearing for your life."

"Doesn't sound like I've got much choice, does it?"

Back at the station Jack briefed the rest of the team. Now with Andrew Peters' statement, they didn't need any more evidence. Jack Marshall was to be arrested for murder and a string of other offences.

"Right this is the plan. Jack Marshall is a very dangerous man and I don't want anyone taking any risks. SO19 will be joining us on this arrest. Our intelligence says that he is still at his house so that is where we should make the arrest if possible."

Jack pointed at the map on the board and told his officers where they would be positioned. Smithy sat and listened intently. He was sat next to the DS who had been sent to replace DS Fraser.

Sam and Phil were to be positioned at the end of the street in an unmarked CID car. Terry and Mickey would be in another car at the other end of the street. The rest of the team would in vans parked outside the front and back of the house. When Jack dismissed everyone, they agreed to meet outside in the yard in about an hour. Smithy approached Jack who was finishing up some paperwork.

"Gov, is it ok if I let Gina know about this? She's waited so long for this breakthrough and now it's finally happened, I think she should know."

"Yeah sure Smithy. Let her know that I'll be thinking of her and we'll do our best to get a successful result on this."

Smithy trotted off to tell Gina the fantastic news. Twenty four years and finally she would get the piece of mind she deserved.

Smithy headed into his office and picked up a file from his desk. A piece of paper slid out and fell to the floor. He picked it up and briefly read it. It was the list of suspected associates for Jack Marshall. Suddenly Smithy remembered why he recognized that name earlier on the list. He ran up the stairs to the DCIs' office as quick as he could.

"Gov, DS Baines is one of Marshalls associates. His name his down here on this list. He's probably already told Marshall what we're planning to do."

Jack and Smithy radioed all the officers who were attending the arrest. They rushed round to Marshalls house just in time to see Marshall pulling out at full speed from his driveway. As he span the car round he aimed a gun at Sam and Phils' car, parked at the end of the road as planned. The shot shattered the front windscreen. Luckily both officers were unharmed.

Marshall sped off, followed by three or four police cars. They chased him for miles, heading towards London city airport.


	13. Chapter 13

Marshall drove straight to the airport, Sun Hill officers were just moments behind him. Unfortunately they were too slow. Marshall ran into the airport, followed by Smithy and Jack. Neither officer could see him in the crowd.

"Where is he? Can you see him?" Smithy asked, frantically looking round.

"No. We need to split up. Right listen up everyone. I want you to find Jack Marshall as soon as possible. Be warned he may be armed so I want us to split into groups and have members of SO19 with each of us. If you see Marshall do not try to take him out on your own. Radio for back up, but keep yourselves and the public safe." Jack gave his orders and the officers listened intently.

Smithys' adrenaline started to pump. He had paired off with the DCI. They headed towards the reception desks.

Jack approached the desk and showed his warrant card.

"I need all flights to be delayed. No one is to board any outgoing flight."

"I'm sorry Sir but I'm not authorized to do…" The young girl started to explain when Jack cut her off.

"Well find me someone who can. There is a very dangerous suspect trying to get onto one of the planes and if we don't stop him…" Jack was cut off when Smithy tugged on his shoulder.

"Look Gov, he's over there." Smithy pointed towards the shops and café.

The officers rushed over to where they saw Marshall. Smithy radioed for back up and they were joined by more officers. Marshall saw them and started running towards the escalators.

Smithy was quick off the draw and headed after him, followed by Phil, Mickey and Terry. They chased him up the wrong side of the escalator, bashing into people coming down. Marshall ran along the shops, closely followed by Smithy. They headed back down some stairs where Marshall headed through a large no entry door. They had chased Marshall into the repairs area for the planes.

Marshall lost concentration for a brief second, he ran head long in to a pile of boxes. Smithy was closely behind him. Seeing that he had no way to escape; Marshall pulled a gun from underneath his jacket.

"Not so clever now are you mate?" He said as he pointed the gun at Smithy.

He had been so busy chasing Marshall, that Smithy hadn't noticed he had lost the others somewhere a long the lines.

"Just give yourself up. Armed officers will be here in seconds and they will shoot you if they think it's necessary."

"Pity there not here then isn't it." Marshall sneered as he pulled the catch back.

"Alright, but before you pull that trigger, explain why you did what you did to Gina?"

Marshall looked puzzled for a split second and then sneered at Smithy, an evil smile creasing his face.

"Because I could; I wanted her to know that I was in control, besides that tart liked it rough. Has she never told you that?"

"What happened? She hurt your male pride by refusing to go out with you, so you thought you would teach her a lesson?"

"Well you got one part right. I wanted to teach her a lesson alright. If it hadn't have been for her I would have had a proper family and my mother would not have walked out on us when I was five years old." Marshall bellowed.

Smithy looked confused. Marshall noted this look of confusion.

"My father left my mother just before I was born. Apparently he had been knocking some other slag off. My mother hadn't told him 'bout me. Turned out he'd got his bit on the side pregnant an all, but he did the decent thing and married her. When my mother told him she was pregnant, he didn't want anything to with her or me. A few months after I was born, so was Gina Gold."

"Are you trying to tell me that Gina is your half sister?" Smithy couldn't believe what he was hearing. Although nothing was really surprising him any more. This case had thrown up that many shocks.

"That's right, Derek Gold was my father. Granted when I was born he came back to my mother. Played happy families with the both of us. After a while he lost interest in my family as well as Ginas. Ginas' Mum was doped up on valium and my Mum took to the bottle. Meanwhile, Derek had several other mistresses on the go by then as well." Jack explained as he continued to point the gun at Smithy.

"So how did you work out that Gina's to blame? She didn't ask to be born. If anything she had an equally tough childhood as you."

Jack became very riled again. At this point SO19 surrounded the top of the stairwell, shouting at Marshall…

"ARMED POLICE. PUT YOUR WEAPON ON THE GROUND AND YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR.!!!"

Jack didn't move. He continued to aim the gun at Smithy. The armed officers repeated themselves. Smithy knew that SO19 would only give three warnings then they would shoot. Marshall took aim at Smithy and the sound of gun shot filled the air. Smithy closed his eyes. When he reopened them he saw Jack Marshall lay on the floor. The DCI ran up to Smithy with a few other officers.

"What the hell did you think you were playing at Sergeant Smith? You could have been killed."

"Sorry Gov, I thought everyone was behind me." Smithy looked over to where Jack Marshall was.

One of the Sergeants from SO19 came over to speak to Jack Meadows. The scene bustled with action and Smithy was taken by Paramedics to be attended too.

Smithy walked through the graveyard with Gina. They were going to Richards' grave. Gina hadn't been told yet about Richard.

"Well at least it was a result. Marshall is going to make a full recovery. He was only shot in the upper leg so he'll able to face trial. Hopefully, within the next couple of months. How are you feeling now Gina?" Smithy asked.

"Well, finally the person who really did it is behind bars, as it should have been from the start. It is a great result, but, it's never going to bring him back, is it?" Gina said as they arrived at the gravestone.

"Well actually Gina, there's something we haven't told you. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to tell you this before now, but it would have put his life in danger if Marshall hadn't been caught. Your brother didn't commit suicide; in fact he didn't die at all. Some evidence was found that proved his innocence but not Marshalls' guilt. Richard was put into a form of witness protection and has been living in Spain for the past few years." Smithy placed his arms round Ginas' shoulders and turned her round as a figure appeared from behind a tree.

Gina looked shocked. She couldn't believe who she was seeing. He hadn't changed very much in twenty years. He was a little greyer on top, but she still recognized him as her little brother.

"Richard…?" She whispered.

"Hello Gina." Was his only reply.

She walked slowly towards him, struggling to find her feet. He held out his arms to her and pulled her close. They stood and whispered to each other.

"I never gave up hope Richard." She said through tears.

"I never thought you would. I knew that one day we would be together again, it was just a case of when."

Smithy headed away from Gina and Richard. He thought he'd give them some time together. He walked round to Louises grave and sat contemplating the events of the last few days. _Just another normal week at Sun Hill. _He thought, laughing to himself.

_**Thank you to all those who reviewed the story. I hope you've enjoyed and haven't found the ending too disappointing. Keep an eye out for the next story. xXx**_


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